Smuggling from Mexico to Australia after Illegal Import
"I Didn't Know It Was Hidden," Denies Allegations
A drug offender who smuggled methamphetamine into the country from Mexico and then massively smuggled it out to Australia was sentenced to a heavy prison term.
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] A drug offender who smuggled methamphetamine hidden in aircraft parts from overseas into South Korea and then sold large quantities in Australia has been sentenced to a heavy prison term.
The Criminal Division 5 of Busan District Court (Chief Judge Park Mu-young) announced on the 5th that it sentenced A (in his 30s), an Australian national, to 30 years in prison for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. B (in his 30s), an accomplice who had a close economic relationship with A, was sentenced to 5 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 119.27 million won.
According to the verdict, A conspired with members of an international drug smuggling organization operating in Australia to smuggle methamphetamine from Mexico into South Korea and then re-export it to Australia. It was confirmed that A imported helical gears (aircraft deceleration device parts) containing methamphetamine from Mexico, forged the certificate of origin, and disguised them as domestically manufactured before re-exporting them to Australia.
Using this method, from February 2019 to July of the following year, methamphetamine weighing 902 kg was hidden in 20 helical gears and smuggled in twice, and from January to April last year, 498 kg of methamphetamine was re-exported to Australia by ship.
The 902 kg of methamphetamine smuggled by A is enough for about 30 million simultaneous doses and is worth approximately 90.2 billion won at wholesale prices. At that time, it was the largest quantity ever smuggled in a domestic drug smuggling crime.
The drugs smuggled to Australia were all seized by Australian investigative agencies in May last year. After being notified of this, the prosecution first indicted B, who was in South Korea, in August last year, and six months later, arrested and indicted A, who was in Vietnam, through an Interpol red notice. The remaining 404 kg of methamphetamine stored domestically was all seized by the Busan Main Customs Office.
A denied the charges at trial, claiming he was unaware that methamphetamine was hidden in the helical gears, that he did not participate in the crime, and that B was responsible, but this was not accepted.
The court stated, "Import and export crimes among drug offenses internationally distribute and spread drugs, thereby creating new demand and supply," and added, "Considering that the sales funds are supplied as income sources to criminal organizations, which activates those organizations, this constitutes a serious crime that causes significant harm to social order."
Furthermore, the court explained the sentencing by saying, "After methamphetamine was detected in Australia, the defendants urgently moved the remaining drugs stored domestically and attempted to destroy evidence, including damaging materials," and "It is difficult to find any sincere remorse from the defendants."
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